Piers Bourke tells us about how Singapore inspired his new exhibition

1 The new work is very different to the past do you wish you had made the move to Singapore sooner?
Not really no, I think it arrived at almost exactly the right time. One of the early things I learnt about my practice when I moved was that a settled equilibrium was key to my productivity and success. The balance of living and working in Central London as an artist is a complex puzzle to master so departing sooner would have felt like a lot of wasted time and hard work.

Pierres Bourke Fan series purple

2 Your previous work seemed quite obviously nostalgic – this new work seems to look to the future despite using traditional techniques – are you looking forward?
Undoubtedly Yes. Singapore is not a country that looks back and that spirit cannot fail to inspire you. Their story is quite remarkable and part of their success in my opinion is because they constantly look to the future. This mentality is very infectious and made me realise I must keep pushing on.

3 Are you worried what previous collectors of your work might feel?
My way of thinking around this would be that they would be more disappointed had I come home with exactly the same collection as with which I left. I think people are excited to see the new direction of my practice.

4 After the success of Singapore in moving your art practice forward have you plans to visit other places?
Not immediately, as I feel like I need a re-settling period, to build on what I created over there. But yes of course, as it’s exciting to think what I might create with another move!

5 Why a private residence to show this work?
I felt like it was a nice way to reintroduce myself back to London and have the time to explain the new work and the time away on a more personal level. I had also read a lot of articles about the cross over benefits between property and art, so it seemed like a nice fit.

6 Do you feel Asia is the future and the West the past?
That’s a complicated one, not necessarily as globally we all have our problems, but the work ethic is certainly something to learn from over there. In Singapore they laughed at us for taking 10 years to discuss building a new runway at Heathrow Airport when they are already three years into a 10-year project to build theirs.